DataRecover Pro vs. PhotoRec
Free and powerful — if you can live without names, preview, and repair.
PhotoRec is free, open-source, and genuinely capable at carving files from a disk by signature. It's a great tool — with real trade-offs. The honest comparison with DataRecover Pro is free-and-technical versus paid-and-complete.
| Capability | DataRecover Pro | CGSecurity |
|---|---|---|
| Where they differ | ||
| Price | Free scan · paid recovery | Free |
| Graphical Mac app (no command line) | Yes | No |
| Recovers original filenames & folders | Yes | No |
| Quick filesystem scan (not just carving) | Yes | No |
| Preview & confidence scores before recovering | Yes | No |
| Built-in file repair (photos / video / docs) | Yes | No |
| APFS checkpoint recovery | Yes | No |
| Same on both | ||
| Deep signature carving | Yes | Yes |
| RAW photo formats | Yes | Yes |
| Read-only source · 100% local | Yes | Yes |
What PhotoRec does well
PhotoRec carves a wide range of formats from raw disk data and costs nothing. For a technical user willing to work at the command line and sort through results, it can recover a lot — and it's open source.
What you give up
PhotoRec is command-line only, recovers files without their original names or folder structure (you get a pile of carved files to identify yourself), doesn't preview results, and does not repair anything — a corrupted carved file stays corrupted. DataRecover Pro adds a Mac GUI, filesystem-aware scanning that preserves names and folders, free preview with confidence scores, and built-in repair for the files that come back damaged.
The verdict
If you're comfortable in a terminal and just need raw carving for free, PhotoRec is a fine choice. If you want named files, a preview before you commit, and repair for corrupted results, DataRecover Pro is built for that — and scanning is still free, so you can see what it finds first.
Try it free — judge the results.
Scan and preview your lost files free with DataRecover Pro. The difference shows up when you recover — and repair — them.
More comparisons: PhotoRec with a GUI? · vs untrunc (broken MP4/MOV) · vs Disk Drill · best free Mac recovery options · all comparisons
Comparison reflects publicly documented capabilities as of 2026 and may change; verify current features with each vendor. PhotoRec is a trademark of CGSecurity; DataRecover Pro is not affiliated with or endorsed by CGSecurity.